Eitan Grinspun
Professor, Departments of Computer Science and Mathematics
Eitan Grinspun is a professor in the Departments of Computer Science and Mathematics.
Grinspun’s research focuses on computing motion and computers’ ability to predict how materials move and deform, which helps us understand and predict how they interact with the physical world. From billowing hair to flagellar propulsion to robotics, computing motion broadly impacts the arts, science and engineering.
He explores the connection between physical and computational principles. In particular, he focuses on geometry as the bridge between physics and computation. His research is based on the fundamental question: “How can the geometric view of physics shape the design of computer algorithms?”
Grinspun’s overarching research objective is to investigate algorithms that leverage geometric insights into the physical world, from the vantage point of theory, systems and applications.
The technologies developed by his group are found in products such as Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator and used by major film studios like Disney and Weta Digital, as well as in basic scientific research.
Prior to joining U of T, Grinspun was an associate professor at Columbia University, Professeur d'Université Invité at l'Université Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris and a research scientist at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences. He was an NVIDIA Fellow in 2001, an Everhart Distinguished Lecturer in 2003, an NSF CAREER Award recipient in 2007 and an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow in 2010-2012.